Afghanistan defeated Ireland in the third T20I and sealed the series

2024.03.21

Afghanistan defeated Ireland by a large margin of 57 runs at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in the third and final Twenty20 International (T20I) match of the Afghanistan vs. Ireland series in the UAE 2024. By doing so, the Afghan team also secured the series.

Afghanistan chose to bat first after winning the toss. Ibrahim Zadran led Afghanistan’s innings with a superb 72 runs off 51 balls, which included five fours and three sixes. Zadran’s performance was impressive.

Sediqullah Atal (19 runs) and Mohammad Ishaq (27 runs) provided support for him. With the exception of Zadran’s outstanding performance, the Afghan batting order failed to muster much support, as they were reduced to 155/7 in their allocated 20 overs.

Ireland, in reply, could not muster much of a chase, scoring just 98 runs before being bowled out in 17.2 overs. With 28 runs off 23 balls, Curtis Campher led Ireland in scoring, followed by Harry Tector with 16 runs. But the strain of Afghanistan’s bowling assault caused the Irish batting order to crumble, and they were unable to form any meaningful partnerships.

Azmatullah Omarzai led the Afghan bowlers with four wickets for only nine runs in his four overs, putting up an excellent show. With three wickets for ten runs, Naveen ul Haq also had a big impact. Rashid Khan and Fazalhaq Farooqi each contributed one wicket.

Afghanistan won the series 2-1 thanks to this resounding victory. Despite losing the opening game, they responded well to win the next two meetings. Ibrahim deservedly won Player of the Match for his pivotal innings due to his outstanding effort. Likewise, Rashid, who claimed 8 wickets in 3 games, including a 4-fer, was awarded Player of the Series.

@charith